CLEVELAND, Ohio -- This is just a suggestion, but based on how things went for Carlos Carrasco on Monday night at Progressive Field, maybe the Indians should send him to Charlotte, N.C. to throw a simulated game before every start.

Carrasco went to Charlotte on Thursday and threw five innings against some of his old Columbus Clipper teammates before they played Charlotte. Carrasco was serving what was left of his seven-game suspension and the Indians wanted him to work on throwing to the inside part of the plate.

In spite of the Indians' 2-1 loss to Kansas City, Carrasco did that and a lot more. The loss, however, pushed the Royals past the Indians and into second place in the AL Central as they won for the 11th time in their last 13 games.

Carrasco, who left with one out and a 1-0 lead in the eighth, allowed one run on four hits in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out four, walked one and allowed four hits on 90 pitches.

Chris Getz greeted Carrasco with a single to start the eighth. Alcides Escobar advanced Getz to second with a sacrifice bunt and Bryan Shaw relieved Carrasco, who received a standing ovation from the crowd of 12,803 as he left the field.

Shaw retired Alex Gordon on a liner to third, but Eric Hosmer blooped a double into center field to score Getz and deny Carrasco a potential victory. Shaw has inherited 13 runners this season and Getz was just the third to score.

The Royals won it in the ninth as pinch-runner Elliot Johnson scored on Matt Albers' wild pitch with the bases loaded to break a 1-1 tie. Billy Butler started the ninth with a double off Shaw (0-1). When Lorenzo Cain walked, lefty Rich Hill relieved to face David Lough, who played at Green High School in Akron.

Lough bunted back to Hill, who fielded the ball, but slipped. Lough was credited with a single to load the bases. Albers relieved to face pinch-hitter Miguel Tejada, but before Tejada lined out to first, Albers uncorked a wild pitch that squirted through catcher Carlos Santana's legs. Santana recovered the ball and flipped to Albers, who was covering the plate, but it was too late.

Albers escaped the rest of the inning as Alcides Escobar forced Cain at the plate with an attempted squeeze and Gordon flied out to center.

Crow (3-2) earned the win and Greg Holland pitched the ninth for his 15th save.

In the ninth, Michael Bourn doubled and reached third on a wild pitch with one out, but Holland struck out Mike Aviles and retired Jason Kipnis on a grounder to second to end it.

Santana gave the Indians a 1-0 lead with his 10th homer of the season, a leadoff drive to right field off James Shields' first pitch in the sixth. It was just the Indians third hit of the game, but Santana's second homer in the last three games.

The Indians left the bases loaded in the third and fourth.

Jason Giambi lined a single off Hosmer's glove at first to start the third. Shields had retired six straight to start the game.

After Ryan Raburn walked, No.9 hitter John McDonald tried to advance the runners with a bunt. McDonald sent a nice looking bunt down the third baseline, but the Royals worked the wheel play to perfection to force Giambi at third. It must be noted that at 42, Giambi isn't going to win and foot races.

Shields walked Bourn to reload the bases, but Mike Aviles fouled out to the catcher and Kipnis took a called third strike for the third out.

Giambi started the fifth with a walk. After Raburn's drive bound for the home run porch in left field was turned into a warning-track out by a strong wind from center field, McDonald grounded out to third after a 10-pitch at-bat to advance Giambi to second. A walk by Bourn and Aviles' sharp single to left loaded the bases, but once again Kipnis was a strikeout victim.

In the eighth, Mark Reynolds singled off Crow. He stole second with two out and went to third on catcher Salvador Perez's throwing error. Crow, however, struck out Raburn.

Carrasco started the game with 13 straight outs before Cain singled to right with one out in the fifth for Kansas City's first hit. Left fielder Michael Brantley backed Carrasco with some fine defense with consecutive catches in the third against Mike Moustakas and Getz.

He made a shoe-string catch against Moustakas and a diving catch against Getz. Brantley robbed Getz again to start the fifth, making a sliding catch along the left field foul line for the first out of the inning.

Shields has not won a game since April 30. In his last nine starts, he's 0-4 with a 2.53 ERA.

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